


I used to think that I was better alone

by jennuine



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Derek is a secret Directioner, First Kiss, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, I Don't Even Know, M/M, Mutual Pining, Ridiculously fluffy, okay?, one direction - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-15
Updated: 2013-04-15
Packaged: 2017-12-08 14:53:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,822
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/762643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jennuine/pseuds/jennuine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Derek growls, but Stiles is onto him now.</p><p>“That was One Direction. On your phone. <i>Your</i> phone.”</p><p>Derek resolutely does not meet his eyes.</p><p>*</p><p>Or, the one where Derek is a secret One Direction fan and Stiles finds out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I used to think that I was better alone

**Author's Note:**

> uhhh, so I really just wanted to write a short 5+1 fic where Derek secretly loves 1D. Instead it involved into Sterek feels, and I don't even know, ok? I'm sorry. I'm sorry in advance.

**I used to think that I was better alone**

 

When he first hears it, Stiles thinks it’s Isaac.

****

There’s a pack meeting at Derek’s house, and after training they’re heating up frozen pizza in his newly-built oven, and it’s all nice and peaceful when Stiles complains it’s too quiet.

****

“How is that possible with you around?” snarks Jackson, but Isaac obligingly gets a laptop and starts up Pandora.

****

The first few tracks are great, interesting indie-alt stuff that Stiles wouldn’t have pegged Isaac to be a fan of. Then, about five tracks in, a very familiar, catchy hook starts playing. Stiles literally drops what he’s doing (the salad he’s preparing, he gets vinaigrette on the cuffs of his shirt) and very slowly turns his head to gawp at the laptop.

****

“What. Is. This.” he says.

****

Isaac throws a cursory glance at the Pandora list. “Uh, ‘Kiss You’?” He sounds hesitant, almost doubtful, which Stiles can’t blame him for.

****

“Are you kidding me?” Stiles asks, but before Isaac can reply, Lydia interrupts.

****

“I know it’s hard for you, but stop talking, Stiles. I love this song, and you’re spoiling it.”

****

Stiles sees Derek tap his fingers impatiently, and figures the super happy pop music is probably actually destroying his soul, but noone dares say anything once Lydia has decreed something.

****

*

****

The second time, he figures it’s a glitch.

****

He’s over at Derek’s house again, ostensibly doing research with Peter’s personal collection of werewolf-y reference books (and he _is_ , just not so much about wolfsbane antidotes as much as how in certain potions it can be an aphrodisiac, and _huh_ , that could be useful), when he starts to realize how loud his breathing is, and if Derek realizes what’s got him so worked up he is screwed.

****

As if on cue, Derek raises his head from his own book. “Your heart is racing.”

****

“Uh, yeah, I just - it’s, um, it’s really quiet, I don’t like quiet, you know?” Stiles babbles.

****

Derek rolls his eyes. “Really? All this time, you’ve had me fooled.”

****

But before Stiles can react to Derek being intentionally funny (which has been happening more and more frequently, which Stiles really likes but won’t say because then Derek might stop), he gets up and turns on his laptop.

****

A few minutes later, music fills up the quiet. Derek seems to prefer soothing, almost haunting tracks, and for Stiles right now it’s perfect.

****

And then.

****

Stiles is mindlessly humming along, because he kind of knows this song, when it suddenly clicks why he knows it. “Seriously?” he asks out loud, and Derek frowns (#5 - the confused frown).

****

“What.”

****

“‘Little Things’?”

****

“Do you have a problem with One Direction?” Derek asks, frowning harder (#4 - why-is-this-my-life).

****

Stiles is not sure how Derek even knows who they are, but figures Isaac must play them a lot, which is probably how it ended up on Derek’s Pandora to begin with. And because Derek is crazy protective over Isaac, Stiles shakes his head. “No! Nooooo. Nope, none, nada. No problem at all.”

****

Derek rolls his eyes and skips the track.

****

*

****

The third time, they’re in Derek’s Camaro on a stakeout and Stiles is fiddling with the radio, despite Derek’s glare (#7 - I’m-not-really-pissed-but-I-have-to-show-my-Alpha-face).

****

He must land on a Top 40 hits or pop station, because the next thing he knows, he’s hearing _something’s gotta give now, cause I’m dying just to know your name, and I need you here with me now_ , and Derek grips the steering wheel tighter.

****

“Oh whoops,” Stiles says, and tries to find another station because Derek might put up with One Direction for Isaac, but he’d probably prefer not to be subjected to such cheeriness (Stiles figures he’s about all the happiness Derek can handle without imploding, though he’d never actually ever voice that thought) otherwise.

****

It turns out to be a moot point because that’s just about when the mountain lion shapeshifter they’ve been watching lets out a loud roar.

****

Right beside Stiles’ window.

****

_Come on, come into my life, I don’t, I don’t, don’t know what it is, but you’ve got that one thing_ is possibly the most surreal soundtrack to a fight he’s ever had.

****

*

****

The unthinkable (though probably inevitable) happens one Thursday afternoon, and Stiles accidentally knocks over a venti frappucino. All over his laptop.

****

“BABY! Nooooooo!” he howls, and he swears he hears a responding howl from afar, but right now he’s too busy stripping off his shirt to mop up the mess, because the tissues are all the way over by his bed.

****

“Please, baby, please,” he cajols, after he’s wiped up most of the liquid and then run down to the kitchen to dunk his laptop into a bucket of rice (healthy eating has so many benefits, don’t you see Dad, he thinks) because Stiles’ Google-fu is second to none - well maybe Danny - and he’s been dreading the day he needed this knowledge. “Okay, you’re just going to take a little rest in there, and then we’re going to try and see what a perfect girl you are, because you’re going to be _just fine_ , right?”

****

“Are you talking to your laptop,” Derek says flatly from the kitchen door, and Stiles does not shriek because he is used to this by now.

****

“Shhh! She’s been through a traumatic event, she needs all the R&R she can get.” Stiles walks up and silences Derek (which should really be unnecessary, given that it’s...Derek) with a finger to his mouth. Derek glances pointedly at the finger, then at Stiles, and look, it’s not _wrong_ to want to put his finger into Derek’s mouth, okay?

****

“Stiles,” Derek says quietly, and the look in his eyes is _intense_. Stiles has to swallow hard when he feels the movement of Derek’s lips against his skin. “Why are you half naked?”

****

Which is when Stiles remembers he’s shirtless. “Um.”

****

“Will you please put a shirt on.” His voice sounds strained and there’s an odd noise - yep, tiny little gouges on the frame of Stiles’ kitchen doorway where Derek is gripping hard. His eyes are starting to tinge red, and Stiles is suddenly stupidly turned on.

****

“Yes, I - um, yes?” Stiles squeaks out, then flees for the safety of a hoodie and a room without werewolf sniffing abilities while he calms himself down.

****

“So, I’m, uh - sorry about blinding you with my pasty whiteness,” Stiles says when he has thought enough thoughts about Finstock and Allison’s mom and can return downstairs.

****

Derek groans and shakes his head. “It’s fine, it’s not -”

****

Before he can say platitudes about how he understands Stiles can’t go into the sun because he’s not a werewolf and hey, skin cancer, Stiles cuts him off by reaching into the rice and pulling out his laptop. “Baby, are you ready to let me turn you on?”

****

Derek  makes a choked noise, probably frustrated about being interrupted. Stiles ignores him, gently stroking his laptop and then trying to switch it on.

****

Nothing happens.

****

Swallowing down on a lump of fear and panic, he tries again. And again. And again.

****

Finally he gives up, and calls Danny. “Danny, please, man, you gotta help me, and hey! I got my cousin Miguel here again - yes okay I know you know he’s not really my cousin - yes okay I’m a horrible person but my laptop just died and - I will buy you chocolate hearts for a month! I love you so much - yes he’s really here, why, are you changing your - no he’s not going to kill you, why would he - hey, I resent that! Okay, no, no, you can call me whatever you want, can I come over with my baby today or - yes my laptop, what else - okay yes, thank you! So much, I really - hello? Oooo-kay, bye Danny.”

****

“Danny’s fixing your laptop for you?” Derek asks gruffly.

****

Stiles beams. “Yes, because he is a perfect human being, second to only Lydia.”

****

Derek frowns (#2 - I’m-unhappy-but-I-don’t-know-why) and then shifts awkwardly. “Well, I guess I’ll just -”

****

And he flees before Stiles can even say bye or wonder why he came by in the first place, but he’s too preoccupied with getting his laptop over to Danny as soon as possible. He hangs out there for a couple of hours, first explaining what happened and then watching Danny work his magic, until Danny sighs and says that he’ll need a bit more time and Stiles’ rambling is not condusive to working.

****

When Stiles gets back, there’s a laptop on his desk. There’s no note, but he recognizes it as Derek’s, besides the fact that only one other person knew about his traumatic afternoon. He takes out his phone to text a quick **THANK YOU!!! knew there was a heart under all that alpha :D** to Derek, and gets back **do your homework** followed by **and research** , but he’s getting better at reading the grumpiness so he just replies with another **:D** which is sure to drive Derek crazy.

****

He really does have homework though, so he opens a browser to start googling his topic. About twenty minutes in he gets distracted and ends up on Youtube. He snorts in amusement when he sees the top of Derek’s recommended videos are ‘Live While We’re Young’ and ‘One Way Or Another (Teenage Kicks)’, and sends another text. **you should really get isaac his own laptop**

**??**

**i never pegged him for a teenybopper but i suppose that explains the hair** , Stiles tells Derek, but gets no reply. Derek really is so protective over Isaac.

****

*

****

After that though, they seem to come to some sort of strange agreement. A treaty of sorts where they can borrow each other’s stuff when necessary (and not). Stiles _might_ have taken one of Derek’s shirts because what if Derek was bleeding and needed a new shirt and Stiles’ house was closest and that is a totally valid excuse and so what if he sleeps in it, it’s just practical not to waste a perfectly good shirt when it’s comfortable, and the fact that it smells like Derek has nothing to do with it.

****

Derek on the other hand, is not so much borrowing as outright just freeloading off the Stilinski’s Poptarts and bacon, but Stiles figures all the better for his dad if someone else is consuming the sugar and cholesterol.

****

And it’s...nice, having Derek lounging in the kitchen, or his room, snarking at Stiles as they figure out the demon of the week, or what the hunters are up to, or even just watching a movie on Stiles’ restored laptop. Scott is busy with Allison a lot, so Stiles is glad that someone else is apparently willing to spend time with him. Especially when that someone is Derek Hale, even if he’s not quite sure _why_.

****

One day Derek has just shown up and they’re about to watch the new Downton Abbey, settling themselves down on Stiles’ bed (and if anyone ever says he has no self-restraint he’s going to point them all to this moment, because Derek in anyone’s bed is enough to tempt a saint), when suddenly there’s a muted _you’re insecure, don’t know what for, you’re turning heads when you walk through the door_ and Derek flushes _red_ (which is...yeah) and fumbles - fumbles! - into his pocket for his phone.

****

“Uh, you’re calling,” he says stiltedly, and Stiles blinks.

****

“Huh? Oh!” He flails around a bit, patting his sides and then pulls out his phone from under his elbow, where, yep, he’d just accidentally dialled Derek. “Sorry, must’ve hit redial.”

****

Derek nods. “Let’s start the show,” he says, and Stiles is about to hit play when he freezes, and feels Derek tense next to him in response.

****

“Wait.”

****

Derek glances away determinedly.

****

“ _Wait_.” Stiles’ brain is running at a mile a second. “That was -”

****

“Let’s just start the show,” Derek growls, but Stiles is onto him now.

****

“That was _One Direction_. On your _phone. Your_ phone.”

****

Derek resolutely does not meet his eyes.

****

“It hasn’t been Isaac, has it? _You’re_ the One Direction fan!” Stiles declares, grinning madly. “You, Derek Hale, are a secret Directioner!”

****

Derek scowls (#1 - Shut UP Stiles). “So?”

****

“It’s brilliant! Which one of them is your favourite? Harry? Zayn? Liam?”

****

“You seem to be well-versed in them,” Derek points out grumpily.

****

Stiles beams. “I am a pop culture font of knowledge. But _you_ \- Mr grumpy I’m-the-Alpha -”

****

“I’m going to leave now,” Derek says sulkily, and shifts to get up but Stiles is way too delighted over his discovery and flings himself at Derek’s chest to hold him down.

****

Immediately, there’s a shift in tension in the air, when Derek inhales sharply and goes completely still. Stiles, still grinning widely, raises his head in triumph, and finds his face six inches away from Derek’s, and the _look_ that Derek is giving him -

****

Suddenly, something else occurs to Stiles, and he blinks, slowly, searching Derek’s pupil-blown eyes. “Derek,” he says softly. “Is there a reason in particular that you chose that song for my ringtone?”

****

Derek closes his eyes. “I - no - sorry,” he manages, and he sounds _wrecked_. When he opens his eyes to face Stiles again, he looks just as desperate. He gently pushes Stiles away, moving with that cursed werewolf speed to the windowsill. “I’m sorry,” he says again, before disappearing.

****

Well, goddamn.

****

Derek Hale is a secret fan of One Direction, and more importantly, of _Stiles_.

****

Stiles lets out an incredulous laugh at the past ten minutes, relives it, jerks off when he relives it yet again, then forms a plan.

****

*

****

“Go away,” Derek says flatly, when Stiles shows up the next day wearing a shirt with Zayn Malik’s face on it.

****

“I have the Liam one for you,” Stiles says brightly in reply, waving said T-shirt at Derek.

****

Derek scowls (#4 again), but snatches the shirt from Stiles’ hand.

****

“Okay, great, you took my shirt of apology, now you have to listen to me!”

****

“I always have to listen to you, Stiles, you never shut up.” Derek says, grumpy but still clutching his shirt.

****

“So, we’ve been friends now for a while,” Stiles begins, reaching out cautiously to touch Derek’s hand. “I wanna know that when you smile, is it me - are you thinking of me?”

****

Derek whips his head up to stare at Stiles. “Are you serious.”

****

“What would you do - would you wanna stay if I were to say,” Stiles pushes on, “I wanna be last, let me be your last first kiss - I wanna be first, want to be the first to take it all the way like th-mmpphhh!”

****

“You are such a little shit,” Derek says into Stiles’ mouth, but there’s a hint of amused laughter that makes Stiles really, really fucking happy to feel. “The absolute worst.”

****

“Tell me what to change,” Stiles smirks, “I’m afraid you’ll run away -”

****

“Shut up,” Derek says, kissing him to enforce it. “Stop reciting their lyrics at me.”

****

“But if you only knew,” Stiles says persistently, delighted when Derek takes the bait and kisses him again.

****

“If _you_ only knew, Stiles,” he groans. “How much I’ve wanted you, how much I want you -”

****

“You should have said something - should have _done_ something,” Stiles tells him. “I’ve only been in love with you for the past eight months now.”

****

“I didn’t think - I was being so obvious and you never responded -” Derek admits, in between kisses that alternate between fierce and sweet.

****

“Are you kidding?” Stiles pulls back, ignoring Derek’s whine. “When were you ever obvious?”

****

Derek buries his face in Stiles’ neck, making him arch up. “ _Everything_.”

****

“Nuh-uh,” Stiles pants, burying his fingers in soft dark hair to tug him away. “Use your words, Derek.”

****

Derek huffs grumpily. “I let you do research at my house. I always choose you for stakeouts. I find the stupidest reasons just to see you. I always come over to watch shows with you, and _I gave you my shirt_.”

****

“I totally ninja-ed it from you, don’t lie,” Stiles says automatically, then blinks. “Also, what? But you always just disappear, and you were so mad when I took off my shirt -”

****

“You’re an idiot,” Derek says, moving out of Stiles’ grip to nuzzle his jaw. “I was trying not to lick you all over and bend you over your kitchen table.”

****

“Oh jesus,” Stiles gasps, as the words send an electric jolt through him, right to his dick. “Can we - can we move to the bed? Or the couch, or the floor, god, why is all your furniture so far away?”

****

Derek picks up him easily, which is _stupid_ hot, and carries him over to the living room sofa. The look on his face makes Stiles’ throat go dry, and he tangles his hands in Derek’s hair again, pulling him into another kiss.

****

“Come on, Derek,” he says, eyes bright. “I want you to rock me.”

****

And Derek does.

****

*

****

One Direction is _the best._

**Author's Note:**

> um. yes, all the 1D references are what you think they are.
> 
> if you're interested, I'm [puppytastic](http://puppytastic.tumblr.com) on tumblr. come say hi!


End file.
